Anxiety Disorders’ Prevalence

By Katherine Kopp

Published: January 25, 2018

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Some 40 million people ages 18 or older in the U.S., or 18 percent of the population, will suffer from an anxiety disorder each year, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. In the course of a lifetime, that rate increases to 28.8 percent of the population.

Anxiety disorders affect 25.1 percent of children between the ages of 13 and 18. Of those, 5.9 percent of children ages 13-18 are characterized as having “severe” anxiety disorder.

Research shows that untreated children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences and engage in substance abuse. There are also a number of other illnesses, including gastrointestinal disorders and mood disorders, that occur more commonly in adults and children with an anxiety disorder. Learn more at adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.

Moore has a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature from North Carolina State University and a master of school administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. She's currently pursuing her doctoral degree at East Carolina University.